


I stay up talking to the moon

by Strength_in_pain



Series: Comforting Peter Parker because he deserves love [2]
Category: Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: Awesome May Parker (Spider-Man), F/M, Ice Cream, Late Night Conversations, Michelle Jones Needs a Hug, Peter Parker comforts, Precious Peter Parker, Protective Peter Parker, Worried May Parker (Spider-Man)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-17
Updated: 2020-04-21
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:13:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,436
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23695999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Strength_in_pain/pseuds/Strength_in_pain
Summary: Peter needs to finish his homework, but when he finds a distraught MJ outside his apartment building at 2am, Peter sneaks her inside for some late night ice cream.OrMJ is upset and Peter is there for her. Plus May is awesome.
Relationships: May Parker (Spider-Man) & Peter Parker, Michelle Jones & Peter Parker, Michelle Jones/Peter Parker
Series: Comforting Peter Parker because he deserves love [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1698844
Comments: 28
Kudos: 190





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry everyone, I know I’m posting a lot, but I was excited to get this one out there. Now I’m going to give myself a rest. But hopefully you like this. 
> 
> So Peter is the one comforting in this one. Because in my series he is either the comforter or the comforted. ◡‿◡

Peter slumped forward in his desk chair, adjusting the lamp light over top of his biology homework. It was late, but he needed to stay up and finish his homework because it was due the next day. Normally Peter wouldn’t have procrastinated like this, but Queens was suffering from a bunch of brutal robberies this winter, all gang related, which meant Spider-Man had his plate full putting an end to the crimes, not to mention exposing a ring of organized criminals. It took a good week before Peter could finally rest, and by that point his homework was literally stacked several inches high. 

Drumming a pencil on his biology binder, Peter moved to the rhythm of the music that was coursing through his ears. He loved to listen to music while he worked. It helped him focus, especially after he became Spider-Man and his senses got bent out of shape. 

Sometimes he would get distracted by overhearing something occurring two apartments over because of his sensitive hearing. Music helped him to control his ears to one source so that he wouldn’t get distracted. Not that his ears picked up on every sound very often, but every once and a while his senses would flare up like a muscle cramp. 

Speaking of senses, Peter felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Removing his ear-buds, Peter turned to find his Aunt May standing in the doorframe, a few feet behind him. 

He blew out a breath of relief. “Don’t sneak up on me, May.”

“Sorry. I was checking to see if you were in bed yet. Guess not.” Her eyes gave off a gentle concern, the type of concern she saved only for Peter when he was doing something that could affect his health. 

“I’m almost done.” He looked at his Aunt with dark circles under his eyes. 

“I don’t like when you pull all-nighters.” She reminded him.

“It’s not going to be an all-nighter, May. I’m almost done.”

“It’s also almost 2am.”

Peter snapped his neck towards the clock on his nightstand. 

“Oh my God. I swear that said 10:30 a minute ago.”

“Wait,” May said, glancing into the kitchen, “Did you remember to take out the trash?”

Peter scrunched up his face. 

“Peteeeeer!” May whined, “How many times have I told you this week to take out the trash?”

“A lot.”

May crossed her arms, “I even wrote you a note. What do I need to start doing? Taping the note to your forehead.” 

“Okay, okay. I’m sorry. I’ll do it now, okay?”

“Are you insane? It’s way too late to be taking the garbage outside.”

Peter suppressed a laugh, “May, come on, I’m Spider-Man. A little bit of darkness doesn’t scare me.” 

“What if someone sneaks up behind you and mugs you. This isn’t the kindest neighborhood with all the crimes going on recently.”

“I’ve got a spider-sense to protect me, cause again, I’m Spider-Man.”

“You’re also going to be a dead man if you stay out there for more than five minutes.” She warned. 

“I’ll be quick, I promise.” He got up from his brown wooden chair and stretched. It felt so good to move his tense neck muscles in circles. 

“Don’t forget your coat, it’s freezing outside.”

Before long he was outside the apartment taking the trash to the dumpster. May was right, the air was ridged and cold, so cold. His thin pajama pants barely acted as a layer of protection against the painful gusts of wind. 

After lugging four stuffed trash bags (he may have missed a week or two prior to this week) into the dumpster, Peter was ready to go inside when a figure sitting on the street curb caught his eye. 

It was dark, but the street lights were always on, and Peter could just make out the person’s outline. 

“MJ? W-W-What are you doing here?” 

MJ didn’t reply, but her thin shoulders hunched further into herself, and Peter realized she was shaking. 

“MJ, it’s so cold out here. Wait. How long have you been sitting here? Jeez, you must be freezing.” 

Peter stepped forward to the edge of the curb, and kneeled down next to her. He slipped his coat off, his body screaming in protest as the cold bit his against his bare skin. Curse his choice in a wearing a short-sleeve t-shirt as pajamas he thought while gently placing the coat over MJ’s shoulders. 

She was bowing her head, and she turned her face away with embarrassment as Peter sat next to her.

“Is everything okay?” He asked softly. Something about his tone made her look up at him. 

Peter’s heart dropped at the wet streaks on MJ’s red cheeks. 

“Are...” He paused, knowing that she wasn’t okay, and that it would be stupid to ask if she was, “Did something happen?” He asked instead. 

MJ smiled weakly, “Did you know that in some folklore, people believed that that dark markings on the moon were made by a rabbit. That’s where the legend of the Rabbit in the moon comes from.”

Peter’s eyes crinkled into a smile, “Huh. I’ve never heard of that one before. I have heard of the man in the moon.”

“Oh yeah. Do you know how the legend goes?”

“Not really.”

“Well, I’ll tell you what I know,” MJ said, “Some people believe that the man was banished to the moon for committing some type of heinous crime. Now he’s stuck up there forever.” 

“Sounds lonely.” Peter said, and MJ looked at her hands. 

“Yeah,” she whispered. Using Peter’s coat, she wiped at her face.

“Do you want to go inside?” 

MJ shook her head too quickly for Peter’s liking. “You’re aunt... she’ll ask questions cause it’s late and -“

“Then we’ll sneak in, come on.” 

Before she had a chance to protest, Peter has his arm wrapped around her waist, and he was shooting a web somewhere. Then suddenly, too quickly, MJ is flying through the air with Peter swinging from web to web. 

“Oh my God.” She muttered, trying not to look down. Luckily, he stopped in front of a lit window and gently swung her inside. 

Still, as gently as he was, MJ managed to trip over the desk that was right in front of the windowsill, knocking her and a few books to the floor. 

Peter’s laughter filled her ears, and she glanced up to see him attached to the ceiling. 

“You jerk.” She whisper-yelled. “You know I hate that!”

Peter dropped down from a web. “Sorry. I just wanted to get you inside as quickly as possible.” 

He shivered at the thought of the cold, already his arms felt numb and he was sure his face had turned into a popsicle. MJ noticed he was holding out his hand to her, so she took it carefully and he hauled her up.

Once she was up, MJ couldn't help but stare at everything. This was Peter’s bedroom where he had his most secretive and precious possessions. MJ might have known a lot of things about him at school. She observed Peter more than anyone else, but she’s never had the opportunity to get to know him from this personal of a level. Plus, it’s a place she’s never been before, and MJ was always obsessed with exploring new things in detail. 

The first thing she noticed was how tiny it was. She felt crammed by the clutter that was surrounding her. It might be a bit stuffy, but it was cozy and warm. It strangely felt like home from the soft blue comforter on his bed, to the vintage Star Wars action figure collection on his shelf, to the Spider-Man costume hanging out of his closet. Then there was the light-switch with black tape over it which said Do Not Turn Off, and an Iron-Spider-Suit in a weird charging container near his bedroom door. Odd, yet comforting. 

Peter watched her wondering eyes. “Hey, are you okay?”

MJ thought about Peter’s room, how nice it looked, how safe it felt, and then she thought of her own house. 

“Yeah, ‘m fine.” She looked at her shoes, “This is weird, isn’t it?”

“What? You being in my room? Or you showing up in front of my apartment building at 2am?”

“I was talking to the moon.” She said, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. “It told me to come here.”

“Oh? The man in the moon told you?”

“Yup. He’s quite persuasive, like most criminals.”

“Well I should thank him for bringing you here. I like - um - like talking to you.” Peter felt himself blush, which was exactly the opposite of what he wanted to do. 

MJ gave him another weak smile. If she was feeling better she would have teased him. Peter must have thought the same thing because he was back to asking if she was okay.

“Peter, I’m fine.”

He knew she wasn’t. MJ doesn’t usually cry, and the fact that she was sitting in the freezing cold beneath his apartment at 2am told him one thing, something bad happened at home. Peter didn’t know anything about MJ’s home life. She was quiet about it. He never pushed because MJ was quiet about a lot of things. It’s just how she was, and he loved that about her. Just like he loved how weird she was with her fascination towards history, and murders and crime-investigations. She was funny too. Most of all, he loved her teasing and sarcasm. Tonight she wasn’t herself though; she was depressed, sad, and maybe a little bit scared. None of that was okay with Peter. 

Then an idea sparked in his mind. He grinned wildly, “Hang on! I’ll be right back. Make yourself at home.” 

With those words, he left her alone in his bedroom, shutting the door quietly behind him to conceal MJ from his Aunt. 

The first thing MJ did was sit on his bed. This was where Peter slept, in a little twin sized-bed, duly noted. The second thing she did was pick up a book sitting on his nightstand. She was flipping through the pages, but she wasn’t focused on reading the words, instead she was trying to hear the auditable conversation that started going on in the other room.

“May, I’m not dead. Don’t freak out.” 

“Don’t freak out!” May shouted way too loudly for Peter’s sensitive ears. “Don’t freak out he says. Peter I told you to come back in five minutes. Then what do you do? You climb through your window and don’t even bother to tell me that you’re back?! I was worried sick.”

“I told you not to worry. I’m spider -“

May held up a finger, “Don’t. Say. It.”

“I’m sorry. I - I don’t know why I went through the window- it’s a force of habit I guess.” 

May scrubbed a hand over her face. Peter noticed the bags under her eyes and frowned. 

“We’re you waiting up for me?”

“Of course I was.” She sighed. “Kiddo, you’re going to be the death of me.” She walked forward and enveloped him in a hug.  
“I’m just glad you’re all right, even if you can’t resist showing off your Spider-Man moves by going through the window.”

Peter wrapped his arms tightly around her neck and squeezed his eyes shut. “I’m not a show off,” he mumbled into her neck. 

“Oh yeah, you totally are,” May fired back.

Pulling away, Peter tilted his head. “No?”

“Yes.”

He smiled. “No, no, see this is showing off.”

He sprung into a backflip, across the living room floor. May giggled, shaking her head. 

“Okay Mister, well, I can show off too.” She threw her hands up, her pink robe raising up as well, and she started dancing around the room.

“Agh!” Peter cried out, turning his face in shame. “May stop it!”

“You can’t stop the shimmy twist.” 

“Oh God, May. Please don’t say that.” 

“Shimmy to the left, and shimmy to the right, and shake that booty.”

“MAY!” Peter screamed, throwing his head back in mortification. 

“Oh all right.” She said, coming to an end. “But those are some of my best moves there.” 

“You’re a dancing queen.” Peter joked.

“We should watch that movie again,” May said, as she brushed past him. 

“We should. But only if you promise not to dance like that when we watch it.”

“I make no promises.” She called from a distance. Just before she closed her bedroom door, May said one last piece of advice, “Hey, listen to me, I know you’re going to stay up late tonight and finish your work, but tomorrow you are going to sleep for at least eight hours. Capish?”

“Capish.” He confirmed. 

MJ sat up when Peter returned with a tub of ice-cream and two spoons. 

“Sorry it took so long. My aunt was -“

“Dancing?”

“You heard?” Peter flushed eleven shades of pink. 

“She sounds fun.” 

Peter nodded, sitting next to MJ on the bed, and leaning his head against the wall. “She is. Honestly, she’s the best. That’s why I feel so bad when I make her worry. She doesn’t deserve that.”

“Then stop worrying her, loser.”

“Ouch.” Peter said, shoving a spoonful of ice cream in his mouth. 

“Okay fine. You’re not a loser when you’re Spider-Man.”

“Ohhh thanks.” Peter said.

MJ smiled around the spoon in her mouth. “So why the ice cream?”

“Ice cream always makes me feel better.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I mean, doesn’t it make you feel better?”

MJ nodded, “It kinda does. It’s like it has some type of mythical magic.” 

“I don’t think it’s magic.”

MJ shrugged in half agreement. 

“I used to eat it all the time with my uncle. It was my favorite escape food whenever I was younger.” Peter admitted. 

“Escape from what?” MJ arched her eyebrow. When he started getting flustered, unable to explain himself, she added a sassy, “Escape from your Dorkism.”

“Okay, that is not even a real word.” 

“Really? I thought it was.”

“Hey look, if you’re going to insult me, you gotta do it with a proper word.” 

“Oh is that the rule now?”

“Yup, that’s the rule.” He chuckled lightly, grabbing a dark blue pillow and setting it on his lap, so he had something to hug. 

MJ was content with the silence that followed. She slowly licked the white ice cream off her spoon, relishing the taste as it lingered on her tongue. 

“I have an escape to, you know?”

“Yeah?” His big brown eyes were on hers.

“Yeah, I write...poems. I like to write poems, and draw people’s misery. I basically just like to express myself creatively.”

“That’s so cool that you can do that.” Peter said, meaning it too. 

The corner of her lips turned upwards, “You think?” 

“Mhm,” Peter hummed, following it with a big yawn. 

MJ furrowed her eyebrows. “It’s really late, isn’t it?”

“S’okay.” Peter responded, rubbing at his eyes. 

“You are probably wondering what happened... why I’m here.” 

“I am.” He admitted, and she gulped, dropping her head, “but you don’t have to tell me, if you don’t want to. I understand.” He said. 

She peaked back at him. “Really?”

“Yeah. There are some things I don’t like to talk about too. I’m - I’m not ready to share them, you know?”

She did know. 

“But whenever you’re ready to talk, I’ll be here to listen.” 

“Thanks Spider-Man.” MJ joked. 

“It’s more of a Peter thing.” 

She nodded in silent understanding. Sometimes just Peter being Peter was even better than Peter being Spider-Man. 

Resting her head on her knee, MJ whispered, “Thanks Peter.” Just ask quickly, she switched her tone and stood up, “Well, I should get going. I don’t want your Aunt to find me here tomorrow. Plus, looks like you got some bio homework to finish.” 

“Yeah, fun.” He mumbled. 

“If you want to sleep, I can give you my homework tomorrow morning and you can copy it. Just this once though. Don’t get used to it.”

Peter hummed as his eyes fluttered shut. “Sounds great.”

Before MJ let herself out through the front door, she tucked Peter under the covers. 

“Goodnight, Dork.” 

But he was already asleep.


	2. If I say too much, it’s my consequence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> MJ is vulnerable and opens up to Peter, but once you spill your guts they don’t go back in, so hopefully Peter takes it well. 
> 
> *spoiler, he does. 
> 
> Title of this chapter is inspired by the song My Consequence by Hey Violet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like this chapter is a little darker than the first, but only because MJ opens up more. 
> 
> Quick warnings: there is a mention of drugs and divorce. But it’s quick. I just don’t want to trigger anyone.

It’s been two weeks since MJ showed up at Peter Parker’s apartment building unannounced. Since then, things have improved slightly and MJ found that reading more books was a perfect distraction for what was going on at home. 

She owed it all to Peter’s bedside table. If it wasn’t for his narrow selection of books, MJ would have never found Satellite by Nick Lake. At first, she couldn’t wait to tease Peter about having a fictitious book about space next to his Star Wars collection, but when she got to the library the next day and actually read the book, she was engrossed. Peter had good taste after all. Who would have thought? 

MJ took off her jacket and slung it over her chair before taking a seat. The classroom was so warm compared to the wintry chill outside. Pausing, she felt a smile fall over her face as she watched Ned Leeds plop in a seat next to her. 

He gave her a wave, then pulled out his cell-phone from his back pocket. MJ preferred to draw during homeroom, but she understood those that chose to spend homeroom looking at pictures of food and cats. Anything to pass the half-hour of nothingness. 

Mr. Harrington had to duck when he entered the classroom, the door decorations they created before winter break were still up and causing problems for tall people. Mr. Harrington made his way towards his vinyl desk in his corduroy jacket and decade old trousers. He shoved his glasses up his face while looking over the sheet of names that sat on his desk.

“Okay, sit down everyone. The bell is about to ring.”

With a roll of his eyes, Flash Thompson strutted over to an empty seat in the back of the room. One of his jock friends fist-bumped him on the way. 

As Mr. Harrington began taking attendance, MJ pulled out her notebook and contemplated drawing. 

She usually liked to draw Peter, but Peter wasn’t there, again. He’s been making a habit of coming to class late. Fortunately, Mr. Harrington has been letting it slide since Peter was on the academic debate team and see as how Mr. Harrington was in charge of the debate team, he didn’t want to penalize Peter. But the boy was really pushing it lately. This was the fifth time this month. 

“Good morning Midtown High,” Betty said cheerfully, the Tv broadcast of the morning announcements flickered above everyone. “A quick reminder: everything is theoretically impossible, until it’s done - This is a quote by Robert Heinlein. Now please rise for the playing of our national anthem.” 

MJ stood at the side of her desk, along with her whole class, and put her hand over her heart. 

After the national anthem and morning announcements came to a close, Peter opened the classroom door, and walked in with his head down. 

“Hey, hey, hey, hold it right there Mister,” Peter stopped walking. “You need to sign in,” Mr. Harrington said. 

Snickering, Flash tossed his head back against the wall behind him. “Aww Penis Parker’s late again. What’s the matter? Another wardrobe malfunction?”

His football friends cackled along with him. “Maybe he pissed himself?” One boy teased. 

“Did you piss yourself, Parker?” Flash taunted. 

“All right, that’s enough of that.” Mr. Harrington said. 

There were the few whispers of ‘Peter had an accident’ floating around the room before the class went back to talking about the latest party and embarrassing videos of some girl dancing on social media. 

Peter scribbled his name on the tardy sheet and quickly took a seat in front of Ned. He put his head down, laying his face on the desk. Well, MJ liked to draw people’s misery, but this was just plain sad. Peter looked worst than miserable he looked defeated. 

MJ shuttered, feeling unnerved by Peter’s behavior. Something was wrong. 

Mr. Harrington passed back the morning sign-up papers and fundraising sheets, but MJ wasn’t paying attention. 

“If anyone is interested in the unique field-trip opportunity to the Statue of Liberty, we are having an essay contest to choose which ten lucky students will get to go. Instructions are on the sheet. If you choose to participate the deadline is January 27th.”

MJ passed the sheets back, watching as Peter did the same for his row. He didn’t bother to look back at Ned, just held the sheets behind him. 

“Hey, man, you alright?” Ned whispered. 

Peter didn’t move, didn’t look up or acknowledge his friend. One elbow was propped on his desk while his hand was cradling his forehead, and the other arm was wrapped tightly around his stomach. 

He looked sick or something. Ned nudged MJ and pointed at Peter. She shrugged, having no idea what was up. 

“Peter, hood off.” Mr. Harrington said as he walked past him. 

Slowly, Peter removed his blue hoodie, and kept his face down on his desk. MJ shifted in her chair, trying to get a good look, but failed miserably. 

Finally, after what seemed like forever, the bell rang. Peter gathered his books and rushed towards the door so fast that MJ didn’t have time to blink. 

“You think he’s okay?” Ned asked as he grabbed his book-bag. 

MJ shook her head. “I’m going to try and talk with him.” 

“Good luck.” Ned called after her, “Hey, keep me in the loop.” He pointed to her cell-phone and she nodded. 

Outside the classroom, the hallway was bustling with kids. Luckily MJ was tall enough to see over half their heads. She managed to spot Peter hustling down the hall in the direction of his first period class. 

Quickly, MJ ran past a few kids to chase him down. 

“Dork! Wait up.” 

He straight-up ignored her, which MJ found rather rude. “Peter! Hey, I’m talking to you.” 

She finally caught up to him and grabbed him by the sleeve. 

“Peter.”

He turned towards her, a purple stain stood out starkly around his right eye. His left cheek had a nasty smudge of purplish-yellow bruises, and his right cheek was swollen like he got his wisdom teeth out, but a red welt was the cause. 

MJ stepped back, letting go of his sleeve as if it somehow burst into flames. She couldn't help but gawk at his banged-up face. 

“What do you want?” He croaked out, voice raspy, as if he’d been screaming. 

“What happened?” She whispered. 

“I- I have to get to class. There’s this physics test -”

“Peter,” her tone was cold, “What happened.” 

“I - I need to get to class.” he fumbled nervously. 

Regaining confidence, MJ grabbed his hand, “Screw class. You can make-up the physics test.” 

“MJ, I’ve already missed so many days of school. I’m going to get in so much trouble.”

MJ refused to let go, dragging Peter down the school hall-way. He could have pulled back. He had enough strength to free himself from her strong grip, but part of him didn’t want to. 

By now most of the kids had cleared out of the hallway. The bell was about to ring.

“Why don’t we eat something.” MJ suggested, tugging him towards the cafeteria. 

Peter grinned. “Comfort food?”

“Yeah, I was thinking maybe some ice cream.”

“I don’t think there’s any ice cream back there.”

“No but there is some frozen sherbet.” MJ’s eyes danced with mischief. 

Peter bit his bottom lip, “I don’t know, we’re literally going to be in so much trouble.”

As soon as he said that, the bell rang. Screw his life. Peter Parker was about to be homeless. May would kick him out for sure. 

MJ sat at the empty cafeteria table, and Peter sat next to her in silence. He held his head in his hands. His breathing was picking up, and he really looked like he was about to puke. 

MJ grabbed his hands within her’s. Peter’s eyes widened as he looked at her, a mix of shock and innocence. 

“What happened?” She asked again. 

“Oh.” Peter’s eyes dropped, “I kinda fell.”

“You fell? Like... down the stairs?”

“Like off a building.” 

“Oh.” MJ looked at her beat-up backpack which was sitting on the floor next to her leg. “Were - were you um... swinging on your webs?”

“Kinda.” Peter nodded. “I - I was fighting this guy and um, I was chasing him across the city when he turned back and shot my web with something. Don’t know what it was, but it broke my web. I went to shoot another one, but by the time it stuck, I had already hit the ground.”

MJ winced. “Please tell me it was grass.”

“Um, no. It was cement.” 

“Is that how -“ MJ pointed to the bruises on his face. 

“Oh, no. When I fell, I cracked my ribs.”

She gasped, looking at his clothed stomach. Peter flushed, feeling incredibly self-conscious. Gently, he lifted her chin with his finger so she wouldn’t look at him there. They locked eyes. 

“Right before class? That must have really hurt.”

“They hurt. But uh, the guy punched me a few times in the face which is how this happened.” He pointed to his black eye. 

“I guessing this wasn’t an average burglar?” 

“No, it was some supervillain.” 

“Did you stop him?”

“Oh yeah,” Peter grinned, “I stopped him.”

MJ hopped up. “I’m going to go in the back to see what they have hidden. Want me to bring you back some sherbet?”

“Yeah, thank you.” 

Peter sat alone in the huge open cafeteria. It seemed strange, but in a cool way, to be the only person in a place that would be packed full of people in a few hours. 

Every breath he took reminded him of the tenderness of his chest. Peter was lucky. Normally a fall from that height would kill a person. He healed fast enough that he was only left with a few cracked ribs, and even those were healing. He felt sore and achy, but not stabbing sharp pain like he felt an hour ago. 

When MJ returned she was holding two paper cups of sherbet. 

“No way!” Peter grinned, dimples showing, “They actually have them?”

“I had to dig behind the frozen vegetables, but yeah I found them.” 

She handed him one with a spoon, and sat back down. They ate together in silence for a few seconds. 

“Can I tell you something?” MJ broke the peaceful vibe that they were both feeling. 

“Yeah of course. What’s up.”

“So you know how I went to your apartment that night?”

“Yeah I remember.” Peter nodded, scooping out another spoonful of orange sherbet. 

“You told me I didn’t have to tell you what was on my mind, but then you said whenever I was ready to talk about it, you would listen.”

Peter’s doe eyes met hers. “Yeah, I meant it. Why? Are you ready to talk about it now?”

“Maybe.” MJ sighed. “I’m not used to - to stuff like this.” She pointed between the two of them, hoping that Peter would understand what she was trying to say. 

“It’s okay. I’m not the best at talking either, in case you haven’t noticed, I stutter a lot, and I ramble when I get really nervous, actually I think I just ramble in general. Maybe it’s when I’m really excited because Mr. Stark says -“

“Peter, you’re doing it right now.”

He flushed, “Sorry.”

“Don’t be. I think it’s cute.” MJ jolted upright as if she had been electrocuted. “Oh - I didn’t - I meant that you, ya know... you um... shit.” She muttered at herself. How could she have called him cute to his face? 

“It’s okay, MJ. I like when you tell me how you feel.” 

“Really?” She was flabbergasted, “It doesn’t creep you out?”

Peter shook his head, a strand of brown hair fell out of place, and he casually slicked it back.

“It creeps me out,” MJ admitted. “I hate opening up.”

“That’s cause it makes you feel vulnerable, and vulnerability is a scary thing.”

“It’s terrifying,” she corrected. 

“But once you put it out there in the open, you can truly embrace yourself for who you are instead of hiding behind the fear of judgement. I was so afraid to tell you I was Spider-Man, but now I know you like me for the real me. I have no regrets.”

MJ nodded quietly, “I’m scared you won’t like me anymore if you know everything about me.”

“I’m not the type to judge.” Peter said just below a whisper, “There’s no reason I wouldn’t like you, especially if it’s because of your family. We can’t choose the people we were born to. Whatever your family has done, it’s not your fault.” 

“My Dad’s addicted to drugs.” MJ blurred out, squeezing her eyes shut. She envisioned telling him this a million different ways, but never did she picture saying it so bluntly. She felt dizzy all of a sudden. This was a mistake, this was a mistake her mind screamed. 

Peter grabbed her hands. “Hey, it’s okay.” But MJ was shaking her head, keeping her eyes closed.

“It’s not okay,” she breathed out. “He did it before, a long time ago when I was really little. But then he quit after going to rehab. My life was pretty normal until last year when I caught him in the basement snorting cocaine. He made me promise not to tell my mom.”

MJ opened her eyes, “I never told her. But two weeks ago she found out on her own, and they had the worst fight I’ve ever witnessed. God, it was awful. They both said horrible things, and then it slipped out that I knew about it. Let me tell you, I’ve never seen her so angry. I felt like I betrayed her, you know? My Mom still hasn’t talked to me since and I’ve been hiding out at the library.”

MJ’s eyes were watering as she tried to look anywhere but at Peter’s burning eyes. She felt his thumb run soothing circles over her hands. But nothing could calm her down. She spilled her guts, and now she’s drowning. 

“I’m so sorry, MJ. That must have been awful. I can’t even imagine what you must have heard your parents say.”

A single tear slipped down her face, and she removed her hands from his hold to wipe it away. 

“But you were caught in the middle of your parents fight. You weren’t the cause, and no one should blame you. I’m sure your mom might have felt betrayed in the moment, but if you two sat down and talked... I’m sure she would feel better and you would too.”

MJ finally looked at Peter, really looked at him. He had so much genuine faith in his eyes, MJ wanted to believe him. 

“Maybe.” She said, “But things are broken. I don’t think they’ll ever be the same. Sometimes I’m scared to go home. I never know which one will be there. My Mom and Dad are never there at the same time.”

“Well if you need a place to hang out, you can always come over to my house again. Or if you want to sleep over, you can go to Betty’s house. Ned says she’s really cool.”

“Thanks Peter. But like you said, I guess I should try and talk to my Mom. I have a feeling a divorce is coming soon so that will be fun.” 

Peter winced. “Well, whatever you need to do, I’ll be happy to help. Even if you just need some more books to borrow.”

MJ gave a weak smile, “Oh you noticed I went through your space book?”

“Yeah, and by the way, if you’re going to make fun of my Star Wars collection, I’ll have you know it will be worth millions someday.”

“Oh really?” She snorted, “I guess we’ll have to wait and see.” 

“Guess we will.” Peter said, and suddenly he was wrapped in a tight hug.

“Ow, ow, MJ, my ribs!“

She back off quickly, “I’m so sorry.”

“No, it’s okay,” He grunted, “They’re getting better. Still hurt a little, though.” 

She inspected his face, “Yeah, your bruises are almost completely faded. Wow, that’s amazing.” 

Peter nodded, “I knew they would be gone soon. That’s why I didn’t ditch school. Even though...now I- I kinda did ditch class.”

MJ crinkled her nose, “Yeah sorry about keeping you from your physics test. How much trouble are you going to be in?”

Peter shrugged, “Not that much. It was totally worth every hour of detention they’re going to throw at me.”

“I’ll sit with you, if you want. I’ve got nothing better to do.” 

“That would be great. The only problem is I really want to get back out there and you know, be Spider-Man.”

“Not today. You’re in no condition to be flying around the city with cracked ribs.”

“They’ll be fine by the end of school.” He whined.

“No Peter.” She pointed a finger at him. 

“Aw, you sound like Aunt May.” 

“Shut up, dork!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed. (◠‿◠) 
> 
> Just a quick note, if you like my stories and want to read more, I’ll be posting another story within this comforting Peter series. So make sure you check the series :)


	3. Take me back to when...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter gets a call from MJ at two in the morning, and he decides he needs to see her. May, on the other hand, has a rule against Peter leaving the house so early. So she drives him instead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone. I had another MJ and Peter idea and I thought it might fit with this story so I’m posting it here. (◠‿◠)

After working the past three night shifts and having only a few hours of sleep in the day, May thought she would be out the second her head hit the pillow. But somehow her mind never seemed to want to let that happen, and instead it spent painful hours of second guessing everything rather than sleeping. Two hours later and she decided to grab a glass of water because sleeping was not going to happen anytime soon. 

That’s when she caught him. Perched at the edge of his bedroom window, with a jacket draped over his suit, and his hair sticking up at every end. 

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

May felt anger rise from deep within her chest. They _talked_ about this. They made an agreement, a rule, a compromise, whatever it was, Peter knew he wasn’t allowed outside of the apartment past 2am. May did not think it was an unreasonable rule at all. Most teenagers had to be home by at least midnight. But May knew her teenager was special. He was Spider-Man, and although she was pissed that he had kept that a secret from her for so long, she was understanding. 

‘ _When you can do the things that I can, but you don’t, and then the bad things happen. They happen because of you.’_

How could she not listen to that logic? Truth was, she wanted to be selfish, she wanted to keep him as safe as possible and that meant keeping him away from crimes. But she couldn't be selfish. Not when her nephew was saving lives. But still. They had an agreement. Peter wasn’t allowed to play Spider-Man after 2am. He was supposed to be in bed. 

“This - This isn’t what it looks like.” Peter said. His eyes were wild when he turned to her, huge and slightly red-rimmed, but not from tears. May has seen his red-rimmed teary eyes, and they looked different than his red-rimmed _exhausted_ eyes. 

Peter set his jaw, and pushed his shoulders back. “MJ needs me.”

May hugged her arms around her waist, a wintry chill gusted through his open window. “Peter, if you think I’m letting you go out at this time of night you’ve got another thing coming.”

“ _May_!” He said, waving his cell phone at her, “She called me. She needs me. I’m going.”

May squeezed her eyes shut, trying to process. “Why did she call you? Can’t her parents -“

“Her parents are the problem.” Peter exclaimed. The little patience he had left already evaporated. “She’s all alone, and she’s upset, and I need to be there for her.”

He went to jump out the window, but May grabbed his wrist. “You can’t just swing over to her house.”

“Why not? I’ve done it before.” He snapped over his shoulder. 

Okay, she was going to need to have a talk with him about his tone. Later, though. Now was not the time. 

“Someone will see you.” 

“That’s why I have the suit on, May.” He gave her a dramatic roll of the eyes. 

“And you have your school jacket on, Mr. Peter Parker.”

“MJ might need a jacket if she gets cold and - and I have some books in here and - just let me go. It’s not up for negotiation.”

May grit her teeth. She could tell him no. She could make him go to bed. But whether or not Peter chose to listen was a different story. If he refused, she could tell Tony. He would make Peter listen. But instead of torturing her nephew for wanting to help his girlfriend, May decided she could make the situation easier. 

“Let me get my car keys and my shoes.”

Peter froze. He slowly dropped off his window sill. “What?” 

“Is you are this persistent on seeing your girlfriend at two o’clock in the morning, then I’m diving you.”

“Wha- why? We’re not going to _do_ anything if that’s what you’re inferring. I’m just going to keep her company.”

“Great. Then she’ll have even more company with me in the room.” 

“May -“

“It’s not up for negotiation.”

Peter’s arms fell to his sides, some of the tension leaving his body. “All right. Fine.”

————————————————————

The drive was tense. Peter wouldn’t stop fidgeting in the passenger seat, bouncing his leg up and down, and checking his cell phone repeatedly for messages. 

“What happened?” May asked, trying to keep her voice calm as they drove down the dark streets of Queens. 

“I don’t know.” Peter replied quietly. His gaze was trained stubbornly on the road outside his window.

“I’m sorry, come again?” May cupped a hand around her ear, something she has grown used to doing with Peter throughout the years. She mainly used it when he said something that doesn’t make any sense to her such as:

_I need another backpack._

_I used all our whipped cream to shave._

_Quick! I need a Septum seal and a Gas cylinder asap!_

“It sounded like you said you don’t know.” May said, not hiding the disapproval in her voice. 

“Well...” Peter huffed, impatiently tapping his cellphone again, “She didn’t exactly say what was wrong. But MJ wouldn’t have called me if she didn’t need me.” 

“You said her parents weren’t home?” May asked, receiving a nod from him. “And you’re sure this isn’t an attempt to... you know... frickle-frackle?”

Peter scrunched his face in confusion, raising one eyebrow. 

“You know... butter the biscuit? Glaze the donut? Do the do? Lust and thrust -“

“Oh my God!”

“Locking legs and swapping gravy.” 

“MAY!!!“

“What?” She laughed. “These are golden, and I’m on a roll. Don’t tell me you’ve never heard of them?”

“Just stop, _please_.” 

May frowned. “Well it is a serious question.”

“What? Oh. Yeah, I’m sure she doesn’t want to do that stuff.” 

“You sure?”

“She was upset, May. Like crying. I’m sure.” 

May glanced at her nephew, features sharpened and shadowed in the dim light that filtered through the car windows, and she wondered where this determination came from. Ben was rather determined, but he was never this stubborn. Perhaps Richard was more stubborn. May couldn’t remember exactly what Peter’s father’s attitude was like, but she knew from Ben that he was always the daredevil. She figured that was where Peter got his bravery from. 

One thing was for certain, Peter got his looks from his father. The handsome shaped face, the chocolate brown eyes, even the thin lips. It was all Richard Parker. 

The GPS piped in, telling May to make a turn, so she followed as directed until they reached a small apartment building located on the side of a one-way street, headed north of Hillside Avenue. 

“All right. I’ll swing back home when I’m finished. Bye May. Love you.” 

“Um no. I’m going in with you.”

“Oh May, come on.” He shrieked, as he dramatically threw his head back. She made a mental note to discuss his attitude later as well as his earlier disrespect. 

“Peter. I didn’t drive all this way to not go inside with you.”

“Why do you even care?” He whined.

“Because you said her parents weren’t home.”

“Oh my - why can’t you just trust me when I say I’m not going to do anything.”

“No. It’s not that. I just think that MJ might prefer a parental figure if her’s are gone. Don’t you think?”

Peter huffed, his puffy cheeks filling up with air, “It’s going to be weird.” He said, blowing out the air. 

May unbuckled herself, “You’ll live.”

Peter scowled but exited the car without further argument. They went up the stairs to the apartment building and Peter bolted over to the door with the number 102.

He knocked hastily, but kept it quiet out of respect for the other rooms nearby. Soon the door cracked open, and a single brown eye stared through the crack. As soon as MJ saw it was Peter, she closed the door, undid the chain, and opened it as wide as it could go. 

“Peter,” she cried, throwing her arms over his neck, stumbling backwards with him. “Oh thank God you’re okay.”

“Hey MJ,” his voice was quiet and soothing. “I’m okay. Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” the girl said breathy, pulling out of the embrace. She stared at him carefully, feeling his arms just to remind herself he was really there. Then her eyes drifted to May. Following her gaze, Peter turned his head to glance back at his Aunt. 

“Oh,” he said as if he had completely forgotten she were there. “May drove me. I hope that’s okay? I tried to sneak out but she caught me.”

May pursed her lips, biting back a snide remark about how loud Peter was when he was attempting to ‘sneak out.’ They really needed to discuss a lot of things after this. He was in for a long list of lectures, sneaking out being one of them. 

“Thanks for uh coming,” MJ said to May, her voice small. 

“Come on, MJ, let’s go inside so you can tell me what happened.” Peter suggested. 

The girl nodded, leading Peter into the dimly lit apartment. May followed behind, taking note of the empty looking rooms that she passed through. It was less cozy than she had expected. Certainly not like the apartment she and Peter shared. Sure MJ’s apartment was larger in size, but it felt more bare and lonely. Although May’s apartment was small, she always filled it with a bunch of Nick-knacks and photos that she gathered over the years. She was particularly found of the chocolate mustache photo of six-year-old Peter that hung on every apartment wall despite Peter’s bellyaching protests. However, May didn’t have time to focus on MJ’s apartment furnishings, not while the girl was dragging Peter into her bedroom. 

May stood outside the door, watching as MJ ripped through a journal that was sitting on her desk. 

“Here! This is what I saw in my dream.”

Peter took the notebook in his hands and frowned. “Is that supposed to be me?”

“No. That’s you,” MJ pointed to something on the sheet that May couldn’t see, but Peter visibly paled. Even though the picture shook him, Peter still managed to draw MJ close and kiss her cheek. 

“It’s okay. I’m okay. It wasn’t real.”

“But it felt so real.” The girl mumbled, snuggling her head against Peter’s.

“I know. They always do. But I promise you, we’re both safe now, and that’s all that matters. Everything is going to be okay. I’m not going to let anything hurt you.”

May’s throat tightened at his words. Not only was this a different side to Peter that she never really saw, but he was using the same words she used to say to him. When May first adopted Peter, he used to have reoccurring nightmares about his parents all the time. He never truly understood what had happed. May remembered the painful day she and Ben tried to explain to the four-year-old that his parents weren’t coming home. As far as Peter was concerned, his parents abandoned him. Left him alone because he did something wrong. He used to wake up thrashing and screaming and pleading for them to come back. He was sorry. He promised to be good if they came back. 

One night he woke up crying and May came to his side. He told her about his horrifying dream. Someone had forced him to leave just like his parents did. He clung to May like a koala cub, sobbing into her chest, begging her not to let any bad guys take him away. It was that very night that May made a vow to herself to always be there for her nephew. She wasn’t a mother through pregnancy, but she became one that night through Peter. 

May had cradled him in her lap and ran fingers through his hair until he calmed enough to breathe steadily. Then she whispered in his ear the same words he just recited to MJ. 

Quickly, May dabbed at her eyes with the sleeve of her Pajama shirt. This wasn’t the time to start crying. She needed to make sure MJ was calm now. 

May stepped back, retreating to the kitchen to give the kids some privacy, which they were well deserving of. 

She opened the cabinets and frowned at the lack of food. May briefly wondered how often MJ’s parents weren’t at home. She began riffling through the cabinets, pausing with her hand around a packet of hot chocolate. This would do the trick.

May set about making three drinks in the largest mugs she could find while Peter and MJ’s quiet murmurs filled the air. 

She didn’t hear much of what they were saying but she did hear Peter mumble something about MJ’s drawing, something about sharp non-human teeth and a long tongue. 

“And it ate my head?” He whispered. 

“Well, one of your heads, and not the good kind.” 

May slapped a hand over her face, and looked queasily at the clock. It was too early in the morning for comments like that. 

“MJ!” The boy cried, and May could hear the blush in his voice. “I can’t believe you said that.”

“You walked right into it, loser.” The girl teased. Then more seriously, “I’m sorry. I was only kidding... you know... to lighten the mood.”

“Yeah, and the mood is dark. With my neck being bitten off by this copycat that looks like me, it’s like kinda depressing.”

“That’s why I called you. I needed to make sure you were okay. I needed to make sure it wasn’t real.” Her breathing was ragged. 

“It wasn’t real.” He soothed with that soft voice of his. 

May cleared her throat as she approached the room, not wanting to surprise them, or make it look like she was barging in on them. 

“I made some hot chocolate.”

MJ scuffled back slightly, so that instead of sitting on Peter’s lap, she was sitting in front of him instead. 

“Thanks, May,” Peter said, hopping off the bed, and grabbing MJ’s hand. They followed May back into the kitchen and sat at the table. 

May held the steamy cup of cocoa to her lips, sitting with her knees bent up and bare feet on the chair. She watched fondly as Peter tried to make MJ smile by showing her some videos on his phone. It ended up working, and May couldn’t have been more proud then when Peter got up to take both their empty mugs over to the sink to wash.

“Do you feel a little better now?” May asked the girl, once Peter was out of ear shot.

“Yeah, I do. Thank you. You didn’t have to come all the way out here. I feel awful that he woke you up.”

May laughed at that, “To tell you the truth, I couldn’t sleep anyways.”

“Oh...Sorry.” MJ started to nervously play with her hands.

“I had a night shift the last few nights.” May explained, “So my body is used to being awake at this time. There’s nothing to be sorry for, you sound like Peter.” 

MJ nodded. “I’ve been staying up late too. It’s hard to sleep, and when I do, I usually have weird nightmares, like tonight.”

“Peter used to have nightmares all the time.”

MJ’s ears perked up at that information, and she sat straight in her chair, “You don’t say?” A grin flashed across her face. 

May nodded, “He used to drink hot chocolate like this when he couldn’t fall back to sleep. He told me it always made him feel better. His exact words were, it’s like getting a hug for my tongue.”

“MAY!” Peter exclaimed, mortified, as he walked in behind her. MJ, on the other hand was doubled over laughing. 

“A hug for my tongue? Really?” She squealed. 

“I was like five!” His whole face turned charisma. 

“Oh shit. I can see it too. What other things did he say when he was five?” 

“May, don’t!” 

May smiled kindly, and set down her mug. “I’m sorry, MJ. I’m sworn to secrecy.”

“Thank you.” Peter said, dropping miserably into his seat. 

Gently, MJ rubbed his cheek with her hand. “I think it’s cute.” 

He smiled and leaned closer to her. “I’m glad you’re not alone tonight.

“Me too. Thank you again.” She whispered. 

After everything she saw tonight, May’s main concern was MJ’s lack of parental figures. She wanted to know more. She wanted to ask the girl a bunch of questions to make sure everything was going well. But Peter was there, and MJ was happy, and this wasn’t supposed to be an interrogation. So May settled for making the same vow to MJ that she made for Peter all those years ago. 

“If you ever need anything, I’m here for you. I know you talk to Peter, but I’m always available to chat with as well.”

“It’s true she loves to talk.” Peter smirked.

“I think she gets it from being around you.” MJ said. 

“No I get it from being around her.” 

“Talking is not a disease. You can’t catch it.” May said, swatting his arm. 

MJ chuckled, “Thank you, May. I just might take you up on that offer.” 

Peter’s eyes widened, glancing anxiously between the two women he cared about more than anything, “Hey, no talking about me though!” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! I hope you enjoyed. I’m working on another with Flash as I type this.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed MJ and Peter’s moments. Honestly, I had just as much fun writing May. I almost want to write more of May in the future. What do you think? (◠‿◠)


End file.
